A China-Europe freight train loaded with 1,066 metric tons of flour from Kazakhstan arrived on Jan 7 at the Xi'an International Port Station in Xi'an International Trade and Logistics (ITL) Park – located in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province – marking a new first.

This was the first China-Europe freight train sent from abroad in 2022, which will help Xi'an fight the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring its supplies of flour.

The first China-Europe freight train sent from abroad in 2022 arrives in Xi'an on Jan 7. [Photo by Zhong Hanlin/Xi'an news network]

The 1,066 tons of flour came from the overseas park of Xi'an Aiju Grain and Oil Industry Group in Kazakhstan.  

The company has bought and produced 2,254 tons of wheat and 2,132 tons of flour in Kazakhstan. It is expected that the next freight train will arrive in Xi'an in mid-January, to continue to provide food and oil supplies – helping the city in its anti-virus efforts.

In Xi'an International Port Station, gantry cranes get busy unloading and transferring goods. [Photo by Zhong Hanlin/Xi'an news network]

Xi'an International Port Station is not only the departure station of the freight train, but is also a centralized transfer station for anti-epidemic aid materials. The station has established a working  disinfection system, designed to prevent the spread of the virus through containers and to maximize the safety of the goods.

Moving forward, plans are for the operator China Railway Xi'an Bureau Group Co to increase communications and contacts with companies supplying daily necessities, and to prioritize unloadings and transshipments of materials and supplies.